NFCA Recognizes PFA As Member In Good Standing

By Frank Winters

The Polish Falcons of America has been designated a “Member in Good Standing” by the National Fraternal Congress of America (NFCA), the trade association of American fraternal benefit societies. This level of achievement for 2007 recognizes the society for the highest standards of performance, both in fraternal programming and financial operation, over a one-year period.

The Chicagoland-based NFCA successfully links its 75 member-societies (fraternal benefit societies that are not-for-profit membership organizations offering life insurance, accident and health insurance and annuities) to encourage education, training and service to communities at the national and grassroots levels. The NFCA represents approximately 10 million people in more than 36,000 chapters, making it one of America’s largest volunteer networks.

“The NFCA’s ‘Member in Good Standing’ designation reflects the Polish Falcons of America’s commitment to maintaining a strong, viable fraternal benefit society for our members,” said Wallace Zielinski, PFA National President. “The Polish Falcons of America’s good standing within the NFCA demonstrates a standard of system-wide excellence for its years of continuous service to our members, families and their communities.”

“The leaders of the NFCA’s 75 member-societies believe that the NFCA must enforce strict standards to promote exceptional performance,” according to NFCA Chair of the Board Janice Whipple. “The fraternal movement in the United States has a long and proud place in American history stretching back nearly 150 years. As such, the NFCA has a responsibility to its member-societies to maintain standards that ensure outstanding fraternal benefit society performance. The NFCA’s standards show that each member-society is financially sound and meets or exceeds criteria upon which tax-exempt and regulatory privileges are granted under federal and state laws. On behalf of the NFCA Board of Directors, we are honored to bestow the highest ranking on the Polish Falcons of America.”

The NFCA Membership Standards Program was established in 1993 to assess the integrity and uniqueness of NFCA member-societies and prospective members. Fraternal benefit societies are required to provide the NFCA with information regarding financial performance, organization structure and fraternal outreach activities. Combined, the NFCA’s member-societies maintain more than $324 billion of life insurance-in-force and, in 2005 alone, contributed almost $400 million to a number of worthwhile charitable and fraternal programs. Members of the NFCA’s 75 societies, including the Polish Falcons of America, volunteered more than 93 million hours for community-service projects in 2005, the most recent year for which complete information is available.

For more information on the NFCA, please contact Rose Riccetti, Director of Communications and Marketing, at NFCA headquarters at (630) 522-6322 or by e-mail. You can also visit the NFCA's Web site at nfcanet.org.